Shot in the Dark
by onlyonechairleft
Summary: The oneshot that's finally finished: Ron and Ginny remember their lost brother during the holidays...
1. Action

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor do I ever expect to, own JKR's work...

* * *

The great hall was decked out in Halloween decorations for the feast that night- All Hallows Eve of Ron Weasley's sixth year in Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. On either side of him his best friends, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, sat engaged in conversation with the people on their other side. Across from him was sitting his little (and only) sister Ginny, who was regaling him with the gossip from Ravenclaw house. Why she thought he cared was beyond him, but for today Ron was feeling generous. He'd listen for a while. He stifled a yawn and poured a second (third?) mug of coffee for himself and one for Ginny too. She frowned in his direction and he sighed internally. What had he done now? To his shock, she accepted the mug and smiled a little, muttering her thanks, and then continued on with the (apparently dramatic) story of the ill-fated affair between Padma Patil and Blaise Zabini. Why anyone would want to go out with Blaise still eluded Ron, but when he'd asked Ginny she'd blushed a little and muttered something about him being nice, underneath all the Slytherin. He'd decided that he really didn't want to know how Ginny knew that.

The sky overhead, in the ceiling of the great hall, was clouded and grey. Perfect Halloween weather, really.

"Do you remember when we were really little Gin, and Percy took us trick or treating in the village like the Muggles do?" He hadn't meant to bring up their _other_ brother, but it was that time of year. Ginny met his eyes and nodded, her eyes misting for a just a second.

"Yeah, I remember. We used to love that. Percy always made sure to save us the best sweets." They fell silent for a minute before Ron took a breath, drawing the courage to suggest something he'd been thinking about for almost a year.

"You think if we wrote to him, or something, that it would make a difference?" Biting her lip, Ginny nodded again.

"I think I'd like to try. He's still our brother. And it is Halloween." Ron grinned, smile reaching his eyes for the first time that day.

"We'll send one at lunch, yeah?" And they lapsed into silence, each caught in their own memories. Their own hope.

They got together at lunch- brushing off Harry and Hermione's questions and glares- and composed a brief, but heartfelt, letter to Percy. Basically, telling him they missed him and that while he may have been a git he was still their brother and that they would really like to see him. Ginny insisted on asking him to come meet them in Hogsmeade the following weekend, and they gave a very excited Pig the rolled parchment with only slight unease.

"Do you think we should tell the others? They seemed a bit pissed off when we left."

"I don't want to tell anyone Gin. I don't want them to have another reason to be angry with him if he doesn't come, or doesn't write back." There was a quality in Ron's voice that Ginny couldn't quite place, but she agreed and changed the subject. They'd wait and see what happened with Percy, and it could be their secret for now.

After all, he was family. Even if he was a git.


	2. Expectation

Disclaimer: I still don't own HP, and I'm not making any money out of this. Though, if anyone has any ideas how I _could_, that might be nice...

* * *

After Halloween the school got back into its usual routine. Ron had been to visit Hogsmeade so many times that even the prospect of visiting that weekend wasn't enough to excite him. Instead, and maybe for the first time in his life, Ron was _studying_. Hermione was delighted, thinking she'd finally convinced him that doing homework was more important than having a life. Harry was far too preoccupied to even notice that Ron was working harder than usual. The rest of the Gryffindors quietly assumed that he'd finally begun failing his classes. 

Luckily for Ron, he didn't pick up on this last rumour- but his sister did, and to say Ginny was furious was an understatement. Already stressed by the prospect of her OWL year, and nervous about the prospect of meeting (or not meeting- she couldn't decide which option was more stressful) Percy, the rumour that her (favourite) brother was an idiot didn't sit well with her. As a result, only Ron (and Neville, who was far too sweet to ever indulge in gossip like that) was safe from her unexpected flares of temper. So far, Dean had caught the brunt of it, given that he was the one most likely to approach her on a regular basis, but anyone was fair game. She'd even snapped at Snape when he'd been hovering over her in Defence- he'd barely opened his mouth to speak (Merlin knows what he was actually going to say) when she'd told him, quite clearly, to bugger off and only come back if he actually wanted to teach her something.

He'd been too shocked to reply. She hadn't even gotten a detention.

Ron had given her all his chocolate frogs and made her tell the story a dozen times so he could revel in her glory- and then he'd disappeared to the library for two hours to do his Charms homework. That had been Friday- four days after they'd sent the letter, and seven days before the Hogsmeade trip. And they hadn't gotten a reply yet.

Pig returned on Saturday morning, chirping and fluttering around his master's head as he ate breakfast in the Great hall. He did not have a letter with him.

As Harry fought to get Pig off his head, and out of his nest-like hair, and Hermione fought her laughter, Ron and Ginny shared a look. No reply.

"Shouldn't be surprised, I suppose." He muttered, so only his sister could hear. She nodded sadly, her eyes filling up. Ron was surprised to realise that she wasn't the only one with tears in her eyes- he wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and stood up suddenly. Snatching Pig from Harry's grasp, the owl settling happily into his large hand, Ron muttered,

"I have homework" and almost ran from the hall, feeling immensely grateful that there were so few students up early on the weekend. Ginny glanced at her unfinished breakfast and stood up, brushing off her friends' questions with a distracted wave.

"I, uh, have to go help Ron with his homework. I'll see you guys later, yeah?" And she was gone, in a whirlwind of robes and red hair.

"Am I missing something?" Wide eyed, Harry glanced around at his fellow Gryffindors. "Was that Ron who just walked away from _Quidditch_ to do his homework? On a _Saturday_?" He sounded incredulous. Seamus snorted, disbelieving.

"Yeah mate- in fact, if it wasn't for the fact that he left with his sister, I'd say he had a girl on the go. He's been like that all week- distracted, like." Dean couldn't hold back his groan of disgust,

"Merlin Shay, that's a mental image I could do without. Thanks a million." Seamus grinned, throwing a sausage at his friend.

"Anytime, Thomas. Anytime." Dean responded with a bread-roll and soon the two sixth-years were staging a miniature food-war across the table.

Harry frowned again, looking to Hermione. She was sitting next to him, brow furrowed in concentration- too busy to even notice that Seamus had knocked over his goblet of pumpkin juice and it was steadily creeping closer to her notes (Arithmancy notes that she had promised to bring for Ernie MacMillan, who had yet to turn up to breakfast).

"Maybe he's just realised how important school is Harry. We're sixth years, you know- and if Ron wants to be an Auror, he has to settle down and do the work." She really didn't sound convinced.

"I know that, but this is Ron we're talking about. Ron. Studying. On a Saturday." He shook his head, "The more I say it, the weirder it sounds." They exchanged a look and moved to stand at the same time when suddenly, a hail of cereal rained down over them, swiftly followed by a large jug of milk.

Hermione's eyes narrowed as she turned to her classmates- Dean seemed to have realised he'd gone a little too far, then, but Seamus hadn't. She'd just opened her mouth to yell when he sent a, perfectly aimed, hash brown at her forehead where it smacked with a very satisfying thunk and rebounded onto the table. At which point, she took her wand out of her robe and proceeded to show her classmates just why McGonagall had given her an O when they had been transfiguring fruit.

* * *

Outside the Great Hall, unaware of the food fight raging inside (that at any other time, the Weasley siblings would have been the heart -if not the instigators- of), Ginny caught up with her elder brother as he pushed through the outside doors.

"Ron! Wait up!" He slowed at the top of the steps to give her time to catch up, and then hurried down the sloping lawns in the direction of the lake. They walked in silence as far as the lake, watching the shadows race across the grass as the clouds passed overhead.

Ron finally stopped by the shore of the lake, almost as far from the castle as he could be without being in the forest.

"I really thought that he'd write to us, you know? I mean, I shouldn't have hoped, obviously, but I really did think he'd write to us. He has to know, doesn't he?" He turned to her, then, voice slightly high pitched in desperation and face tear-streaked, "He has to know that we do miss him? I know I was a git- not writing back last year, and some of the things I said to him before he left! I know I deserve it, really- I always took the twins' side against him. We both did! But… he's Percy. He's supposed to be the mature one." He sighed, shoulders drooping as he did. Pig, escaped from Ron's grasp, was happily tweeting from his perch on Ron's shoulder.

"I thought so too, Ron. I really thought it was just a matter of telling him we miss him. I know that Bill and Charlie have written him, but I thought that it would be different for us…" She was remembering her first year in particular, "…he _always_ looked out for us…" her voice trailed off as she got caught in a wave of sadness.

Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks as her brother pulled her into a hug, rubbing circles on her back like their mother had done when they were little.

"I'm sorry Gin- I should never have said this to you. It wasn't fair." She pushed away from him then- something flashing in her eyes.

"Don't you dare apologise to me Ronald Weasley! He's my brother too, and I'm grateful that you asked me." She sniffed. "At least now we know."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, gazing out over the lake, lost in thought until Ron broke the calm.

He was quiet, but sounded determined when he spoke.

"I reckon we'll have to try harder so." Ginny made a noise halfway between a cough and a laugh, and raised an eyebrow at him, fighting to keep her face calm. "He's our brother, and he's not getting away from us that easily Gin. I won't let him." She did laugh then- a sound he hadn't heard enough in the past week.

"You're right Ron." (He didn't hear that said often enough, either). He was their brother.

"If he thinks he can get us to go away just by ignoring _one_ letter, then he has another thing coming. You know what's more stubborn than one pig-headed Weasley?" Ron chuckled.

"Two pig-headed Weasleys, of course." She nodded, twirling around to face the castle.

"Maybe we should send two letters this time."


	3. Relief

Again, I don't own HP. I'd like the castle though... everyone needs a good castle.

* * *

The walk back to the castle was far more cheerful than the walk out had been- the Weasley siblings joked and laughed, more relaxed than they had been in almost a week. The knowledge that yes Percy hadn't replied to them was depressing. But since when did Ron and Ginny Weasley take no for an answer? If living with the twins for their entire lives had taught them anything, it was that patience could move mountains. Or at least, being patient meant that you could tell your mum that you'd broken her favourite vase just before you know the twins are about to get in trouble for something, inevitably far more important. Or stupid. Or dangerous. 

So they were almost cheerful when they re-entered the entrance hall, to be greeted by the sight of half of Gryffindor house (covered from head to toe in food and other, gloopy, things that Ron couldn't identify) being severely admonished by Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. Ginny burst into peals of laughter and her brother joined her as he realised that Hermione Granger- the perfect prefect herself- was getting a weeks worth of detention (along with Harry, Dean and Seamus) for _starting _the whole fight in the first place. He was almost sorry he missed it. The siblings quickly shut up when McGonagall turned her glare to them, willing them to do something wrong so she could give them detention too.

Fighting to keep her mouth shut, Ginny pushed Ron in front of her toward the stairs, biting down on her knuckles to stop the laugh welling at the sight of Dean Thomas in a dress and wishing Colin was there to take pictures. (Which he was, incidentally, but his camera was covered in white goo that may have started out as porridge. Colin himself was unrecognisable underneath the rapidly hardening mystery substance.)

Halfway up the stairs, they finally let their laughter out- releasing the tension of the past week along with their amusement. When they reached the top, Ginny raised an eyebrow at her brother.

"No time like the present, eh?"

"Sounds like a plan Gin. Common room or library?"

Scrunching up her nose in disgust, Ginny shuddered,

"Library- I don't want to be anywhere near Gryffindor tower for quite come time. I don't even want to know what they were covered in."

They found a quiet corner in the library and, after acquiring some parchment from a seventh year Hufflepuff (they'd asked nicely, Ginny would later swear- whoever it was that made the same Hufflepuff run from the library in fear was definitely not them), settled in to write another letter. Or two.

Twenty minutes later, neither of them had gotten much further than _Dear Percy. _

Ginny chewed on the top her quill, staring out the window to the lake in the distance while Ron tapped his foot against the table.

_Tap, Tap, Tap. _

_TapTapTap. _

_Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap. _

_TapTapTapTap._

_Tap, Tap-_

"Oh for Merlin's sake Weasley give it a rest! Some of us are trying to study!" The angry outburst of a Slytherin sixth year brought them back to the world. The _other_ Blonde Slytherin with (a bad) attitude- Daphne Greengrass- was standing over them and expression of utmost disgust on her face. Ron blinked. Ginny's head snapped in her direction.

"What are you two even doing here- you don't even have any books!"

Ron blinked again, but did manage to reply. He even managed to not insult her once.

"We're here avoiding the rest of our house- there was a small food fight at breakfast and they're all probably back in Gryffindor tower right now, trying to chisel the gloop off."

Ginny snickered.

"And Dean was in a dress." She added. Greengrass, trying not to smile, snorted.

"That's as good a reason as any to avoid the Gryffindors, I suppose." Her voice was dry and filled with disdain.

"Hey now- we're Gryffindors too, you know. We're just… exercising our right to be in the library right now. Away from the rest of them." Ginny snickered again. Ron looked at his sister, suddenly suspicious.

"What do you know that I don't?" His eyes narrowed. "Sweet Merlin, you started it, didn't you?" She giggled this time.

"I may have, accidentally of course, hit Seamus with some toast before we left. But- in my defence- I was aiming for you." The high-pitched laughter that suddenly pealed around the, otherwise quiet, library was completely foreign to the Weasleys: a Slytherin. Laughing. _With_ them. Surely it must be a sign that the end of the world was fast approaching. But her laugh proved infectious and Ron couldn't help but join in- Ginny was already laughing so hard that she wasn't even making a sound anymore, except for the occasional hiccough.

An outraged shout from Madam Pince hushed them once more- hysterical laughter subsiding to soft giggles.

"I can't believe you got away with that." Daphne sounded amazed. "If I'd done it someone would have snitched on me by now." Ginny grinned up at her, looking more like the twins than she ever had before, in Ron's eyes.

"It's a good thing that Seamus didn't know it was me though, wasn't it? Such a pity he thought it was Dean." Daphne snorted (in a lady-like way, of course) again, and dropped into the last seat at their table.

"You mind if I sit here then?" Not waiting for an answer, she waved her wand toward her things at the next table and they floated gently across. "When I was coming in, one of the Hufflepuffs was running away, muttering something about crazy people shouting at him. I'd rather not meet any crazy people."

With her head down, looking at her books, she didn't notice Ron and Ginny sharing a look, eyes wide.

"Yeah, feel free. We'll protect each other from crazy people." She also didn't know Ginny well enough to hear the laughter in her voice.

"I never said anything about protecting you. I'd probably push you in front of me and run the other way." Her tone was dry, but there was a smile toying with the corners of her mouth. "That is the Slytherin way, after all."

* * *

About half an hour later, Ron threw his quill away. 

"That's it. I'm done. You ready?" His question was to his sister, but Daphne looked up too. Ginny, biting her lip and nodding slowly added her name to the bottom of the parchment.

"Yeah, I am. You want to send Pig again, or use one of the school owls?"

"You have a Pig that delivers letters? Isn't that really…" Daphne looked amazed "… well, slow? Not to mention odd." Ginny grinned,

"Pig is an owl- it's short for Pigwidgeon. I named him." She actually sounded proud. Her brother, in the process of standing up, shot her a disgusted look.

"That ruddy owl is more annoying than Dragonpox. We'll use a school owl, I reckon. Pig is too small to fly so far again so soon." The concern in his voice at the mere thought of sending the tiny owl off to London again contradicted his words.

"I suppose we'll see you around, Greengrass. Keep an eye out for crazy people, eh? Especially seeing as you don't have two strong Gryffindors to protect you anymore!" Daphne smiled wryly at the other girl.

"Oh, I think I'll manage thanks. See you around." She didn't watch them leave, and they didn't see her smile as she turned back to her books.

* * *

A/N: Because not all the Slytherins can be completely evil, all the time. 


	4. Duplicity

Disclaimer: I do not own HP. Sometimes, I wish I did. But then I remember that I have trouble writing 1000 coherent words, never mind seven whole books...

* * *

"Weasley! There's another damn owl here for you!" The grizzled ex-Auror's voice still carried as well as it once had on the battlefield. Percy, just outside the minister's office, winced as the words reached his ears. Scrimgeour brushed past his assistant into his office and slammed the door in Percy's face. Today was not a good day, apparently. Sighing, the red head moved toward his own desk where the Hogwarts owl was perched, nibbling idly on an eagle feather quill jutting out of the inkwell.

"Come here you bloody bird." Viscously, he ripped the letter from the owl's talons. It hooted indigently, knocked over the inkwell in what Percy perceived to be an act of revenge, and flew off out the still-open window. The name on the envelope was written in handwriting he knew as well as he did his own- he should know it, given that he had helped to teach Ginny how to write, after all. Carefully, he placed the letter (unread) into the small wooden box on his desk, where it joined several others- all neatly addressed to him and all remaining unopened. He hadn't had the chance to destroy this week's supply yet, so there were three or four in the pile.

Scrimgeour returned, glancing around to see whether the owl was gone or not. He didn't have much patience for owls, preferring to use almost any other method of communication instead. He had even commissioned research into the adaptation of Muggle radios and mobile phones for use in the magical world. His thinking had been revolutionary but an unfortunate reaction between magic and technology which had resulted in a blackout across Muggle Britain had meant the project was quickly shelved.

"Another one of those bloody letters, eh? I'll give your girl one thing- she's persistent." Percy smiled weakly, remembering the lie he'd told the minister some weeks before. According to Scrimgeour, Penny had been sending him five or six letters a week in an attempt to win him back. According to Penny, the minister was an idiot to have believed him. She wasn't that desperate, she said, even as she'd helped him place new wards on his bedroom.

"Yes. Yes, she is that." Fortunately for Percy, she also didn't mind pretending to be broken up with him for the duration of this. Penny was far more sensible than he was, sometimes. Of course, she had her moments- she'd been almost screaming at him as he'd explained why he couldn't reply to the damn letters in the first place. She wouldn't accept 'It's too hard' as a reasonable answer.

Scrimgeour, who hadn't really been expecting a reply, thrust a bundle of files in Percy's direction and disappeared back into his office. His assistant barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes, instead bringing the files to the cabinets in the corner and began to re-file them. Alphabetically by incident name, cross referenced by theme. He was fairly certain there was maybe only one other person in the building who would be able to find anything in the cabinet. Which was exactly why he'd reorganised it to suit himself- he'd read somewhere once that the key to retaining one's position was to ensure that oneself was indispensable. Sadly, he knew that the bother of replacing him would always outweigh the work he actually _did_.

For the sixth time that day (and possibly the seven millionth time in the last two years) he wished that he had accepted the position in the department of mysteries when the Unspeakables had approached him first. Merlin, he detested filing. Suddenly angry (because he was still a Weasley, regardless of what his family might say or think) he went back to his desk and brandished his wand- he tapped it once on the box lid and muttered _incendio_. Inside, the contents of the box turned to ash in one brief flash of flame. He really wasn't sure how long more he'd be able to do this.

* * *

He spent lunch rewriting a report on the advantages of Floo powder over broomsticks, amusing himself by replacing all the words with three syllable synonyms. He grinned internally, warmed by the knowledge that the minister couldn't pronounce words of more than two syllables. (Still a Weasley, obviously, and more like the twins than anyone realised.) He didn't remember what he ate shortly after he'd eaten it, and he barely recalled any of the people who'd spoken to him that day. All he really wanted to do was go home to his nice, small but cosy, flat in Ealing and bang his head against the wall repeatedly until he felt better.

And the day certainly wasn't made any better when he got into the elevator to leave the building and ended up sharing it with his father, who studiously ignored him, and half a dozen other people who didn't know he existed.

When he got home to his empty flat he found a note from Penny on the kitchen table, and he couldn't help but smile. She was always thinking of him, and what did he do? Tell everyone he worked with that he'd dumped her and she was desperate to get him back. Hmm. Maybe she deserved a present.

Taking off his shoes and removing his tie, Percy moved into his bedroom and straight toward the small box on his bedside table. It was almost identical to the one in his office; He'd designed it during Scrimgeour's research into Muggle communication- a two-way document exchange similar to a Muggle facsimile. Opening the lid, he lifted out the latest letter from Ron and Ginny and grinned.

It really was getting harder to keep the façade up, and they really weren't helping matters. Still grinning wider than he had all day, Percy settled back on his bed to find out what his little brother and sister had gotten up to in the last few days. One thing he had to say from Scrimgeour- at least he was stupid.

He'd never once questioned why Percy felt the need to replace the filing cabinet with one he built himself.

* * *

A/N: Because we forget that Percy is smart, sometimes. 


	5. Glitter

Disclaimer: I don't own this. But I would like a present and Christmas is far, far away...

* * *

They were home for Christmas for less than an hour before Ginny dragged Ron into the living room to 'help her with the decorations'. Shuddering at the mass of glitter and sparkles that exploded from the boxes dotted around the room, Ron grinned at his sister. They'd abandoned Harry to the twins and Charlie, and their parents were busy trying to keep the Boy-Who-Lived from asking too many questions and, more importantly, getting too many answers. Merlin only knew where Bill and Fleur were, and neither Ron nor Ginny wanted to think too much about that. Percy was conspicuous in his absence and he would be the hippogriff in the room for the next few weeks.

This was why the two youngest Weasleys were hiding in the living room, putting the finishing touches to their present for Percy. Like the Christmas decorations, it was decorated in garish gold and red glitter and covered in tiny twinkling stars. Inside the wrapping paper the dark blue, leather-bound, journal was sedate in comparison- even with the inscription _Percival Weasley_ across the front in silver lettering. It had been a tense purchase several weeks before in Hogsmeade when the siblings had barely been speaking.

Apparently though, the secret they shared was more important than the anger between them. After all, it wasn't really Ginny's fault that Hermione wasn't talking to Ron and Ron himself hadn't really deserved to be goaded like Ginny had done. And yes, Ginny was thoroughly fed up with Lavender already but then, so was Ron- he just wouldn't admit it. So they'd set that aside for Percy, because they may well be the only ones that would. Somehow, the thought that one of their brother's might not get any presents for Christmas moved them to reconciliation faster than any amount of Harry's whining.

"How are we going to send this to him? Pig's far too small for something this big." Ginny bit her lip, examining the package from every angle.

"D'ya reckon Harry'd let us use Hedwig? We could say you're sending something to Lavender." Eyes twinkling, she added "Or Hermione, maybe." Ron glared. It was far too early for jokes.

"I'll ask Harry, I reckon. Hedwig's a bit noticeable though, isn't she? Anyone might know that she's Harry's owl." Ginny's grin fell at this, and she pushed the gift into the second drawer on the rickety dresser in the corner.

"Dammit. We'll figure something out, eventually." She scowled, but brightened when she remembered the (fake) reason they were alone anyway. "Give me a hand with these decorations, then, and we'll sort the rest out later." Ignoring her brother's withering glare, she shoved a box of tinsel into his arms and plonked a glittery hat onto his head. "Smile, Ron! It's Christmas!"

* * *

It took two days to arrange some kind of transport for Percy's gift and for once Ginny had something to thank Phlegm for. The French girl's parents sent her (and Bill) gifts on Christmas Eve with the family owl Ernest, a sprightly young Eagle owl with very tufty ears and a tendency to bite. Insofar as a creature without teeth can bite, that is.

Ginny tied the parcel to the bird carefully, with Ron watching her every move. They'd lied to Fleur, of course, begging her to ask the bird to deliver the present to Lavender (in front of all the assembled Weasley's, and Harry, who had all fought down laughter) because Ron had forgotten to give her a present.

Ron didn't want to know what it meant that every single one of them believed the lie- and what's more, they believed that Ginny was forcing him to send a bloody present too. He was also incredibly grateful that Harry had completely forgotten the, hastily wrapped, box the red head had thrown to his girlfriend before he got off the train. Sometimes, Harry could be trusted to be self absorbed and the holidays were one of those times.

They sent it off with two more letters detailing the holiday and the decorations and what everyone was up to that year. And there may have been more complaining and giving out about their brother's fiancé than was strictly necessary- although at least Percy received a warning about the bad-tempered owl's tendency toward violence. As they watched the (slightly lopsided) owl fly away, Ginny grinned sadly at Ron and they turned away from the kitchen window.

"I hope he likes this one." She spoke quietly, not wanting her family to hear, and Ron responded in kind.

"I hope he opens the bloody thing- damn scary it looks Gin, covered in glitter like that."

They laughed so hard then that when Bill came to investigate the noise they had collapsed onto the floor in a muddle of arms and legs and giggles and were trying, to little avail, to use the other as leverage to climb to their feet. Shaking his head in amusement, the curse-breaker hauled his youngest siblings to their feet, grinning at their juvenile antics. He admonished them for the noise, and threatened them with no presents for disturbing the peace, all the while with a huge grin on his face that spoke of just how much he'd missed them in the past few years. Unfortunately for Bill, Ron and Ginny knew all his ticklish spots, and they weren't thrilled at being labelled children so when Arthur came to investigate the noise he found his eldest (all grown up and engaged) son squealing on the floor like a little girl.

It was too bad for Bill that he also had a camera.

* * *

Christmas dawned bright and clear and after Ron got over the shock of Lavender's present (really, what had she been thinking?) and Ginny got over her annoyance at being forced to help with dinner, it started to turn into a good day. There were the usual fights and complaints, but the day was as peaceful as it got for a day in the burrow. Some of the order members (most noticeably a very old and tired looking Remus Lupin) were there for dinner- the ones without families of their own, Ginny knew. It was a regular occurrence at a Weasley family Christmas- the arrival of lonely strangers. Glancing around at her family after she'd finished her own dinner, Ginny was hit suddenly by the thought of losing one of them- any of them. She almost choked on the sudden tears in her throat, causing George to offer her some pumpkin juice and a solid thump on the back. She smiled at his consideration and caught her mother's eye across the table. She couldn't help but wonder then how exactly Molly Prewitt had survived losing her own brothers.

Her impending tears were quelled with her mother's exclamation of surprise,

"Arthur! Arthur, its Percy!"

And thus, the prodigal son returned. He looked tense and miserable and was accompanied by the completely-unwelcome Minister of Magic. It was painful to watch Molly throw her arms around her son and attempt to hug him back into the family.

When Harry disappeared (amidst much muttering and grumbling from everyone else but Molly) to show Scrimgeour around the garden, Percy was left to the mercy of his family. Or, the awkward silence that surrounded them anyway. He coughed, and gently detached his mother from him.

"Merry Christmas, everyone." His voice was stiff and cold but Ginny thought she could detect just the merest hint of regret in it. Or she wanted to, at any rate.

Ron, across the table from her, met her gaze with a raised eyebrow. What, exactly, were they supposed to do?

"Merry Christmas Percy." They spoke in unison, turning to look at him with grins and welcoming eyes. Hypocrites, they were not. Ignoring the incredulous looks from the twins (and even Arthur) Ginny offered Percy some tea and Ron forced him to sit down in Harry's empty place.

"How's Penny these days Perce? Her brother told me she'd been accepted into the accelerated Healing Programme in Mungo's- is that true?" Percy nodded tersely, sipping the tea that Ginny had forced on him and struggling to speak.

"Yes, she has been. She's working very hard, now."

There was another silence then, as Ron and Ginny tried to instigate some kind of conversation and failed spectacularly. Instead, Fred and George got involved in a very Twin-ish way.

"Why George, it appears that our miraculously disappearing family member has returned! Imagine that!" His eyes were wide and his expression shocked.

"By Merlin Fred- you're right! And he brought a friend too! Convenient, eh?"

From there, the potatoes were almost bound to end up on Percy. Ginny supposed Percy was just lucky it hadn't been the gravy.

They could hear Scrimgeour clattering back toward the house and Percy scrambled to get up from his seat, dropping several things out of his robes as he stood up. All eyes were on him as he scooped up his belongings and dashed out the door. Molly, torn between running after her boy and bursting into tears, compromised by fleeing to the living room followed shortly by Arthur. The twins muttered something about checking on an experiment and disapparated in identical huffs. Bill and Charlie (and, by extension Fleur and Remus) spoke with quiet words at their end of the table.

Nobody noticed Ron and Ginny grinning at each other, slightly gormless expressions on their faces, across the table. Nor did they notice the scrap of parchment Ron retrieved from under the table.

But then again, none of the others had seen the blue journal that fell to the floor. And if they had, they wouldn't have understood anyway.

* * *

In the darkness, late that night, Ron woke his sister as quietly as he could and together they read the letter that Percy had gone to so much trouble to deliver to them.

_Dear Ron and Ginny, _

_Merry Christmas. I suppose congratulations are in order too- you finally managed to get me to write to you. I can only blame myself, I think, for teaching you both to be so bloody patient. _

_I can't even begin to tell you how much your letters have meant to me. Believe me when I say that, if I had my way, I would not be resorting to such measures to get word to you. _

_In the future, perhaps you could send all correspondence to me through Penny? Your owls are proving a nuisance in the ministry._

_I'll do better in my next letter, but please promise to keep our correspondence quiet. There are several reasons for this, none of which I am prepared to consign to parchment. _

_Love,_

_Percy._

_Ps. Thank you both very much for my gift. I will cherish it. _

They sat in silence in the moonlight.

"If he's so happy with his bloody present then why didn't he return the favour? Miserable git." But the happy smile on her face denied her words, and Ron grinned in return. They had their brother back, and that was better than any Christmas present.

Well, almost. He wouldn't have said no to some chocolate frogs.

* * *

A/N: It's actually really finished this time. I swear. 


End file.
